Immersing you in other worlds, vividly imagined characters or incredible true stories, the best audiobooks have never been so popular. From A-list actors narrating romantic novels to tell-all memoirs read by the writers themselves, the industry is booming. In the UK last year, bookworms spent a record £268m on audiobooks, according to the Publishers Association.
It’s easy to see the appeal. Unlike a book, audiobooks can entertain you while you do other tasks. For many, audiobooks go hand in hand with chores like walking the dog, housework or skincare routines. They occupy a side of the brain that’s busy doing something else, bringing entertainment and education to almost any task.
The favourite fiction genres are crime, thriller and fantasy. Richard Osman’s latest cosy crime caper, We Solve Murders, is consistently in the audiobook charts, while Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing uses multiple actors to throw you right into its mythical land of dragons.
Non-fiction is one of the fastest-growing genres, with memoirs, self-help guides, history books and biographies all proving popular. Clips of Prince Harry narrating his memoir Spare went viral, while Matthew Perry’s 2022 autobiography is a poignant listen after the actor’s death. “Miranda Hart’s I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You has been a recent stand-out and works particularly well in audio,” says Richard Lennon, Audio Publisher at Penguin Random House UK. “There’s something about hearing it performed in her own voice that’s really moving.”
There are plenty of ways to read audiobooks, too. The prevailing app is Amazon Audible, which has 800 thousand titles, and starts at £5.99 per month. However, there are also single-purchase options from Apple Books and Google Audiobooks, as well as the audiobooks included in Spotify Premium.
That’s all well and good, but there are thousands of options out there. If you’re looking to widen your listening or embrace the spoken word for the very first time, I’ve rounded up the best audiobooks to download in 2025. I’ve been an avid audiobook listener for years, so here’s some book inspiration to get you started, from memoirs to fiction.
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Senior shopping writer Daisy Lester specialises in reviewing books. From the best books to pack for your summer holidays to new releases and novellas, she has her finger on the pulse when it comes to both debut authors and acclaimed writers. She knows what makes a gripping, moving or important story, whether it’s a romantic comedy or historical drama. She loves books of every genre, from romance and satire to mystery and crime, so there will be a book for every taste in her roundups.
The best audiobooks for 2025 are:
- Best overall – Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: £12.99 (or free with one credit), Audible.co.uk
- Best memoir – Educated by Tara Westover: £12.99 (or free with one credit), Audible.co.uk
- Best romance – One Day by David Nicholls: £20.99 (or free with one credit), Audible.co.uk
- Best for kids – Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling: £17.99 (or free with one credit), Audible.co.uk
- Best new fiction – The Names by Florence Knapp: £12.99 (or free with one credit), Audible.co.uk
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‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Best: Audiobook overall
Length: 7 hours and 47 minutes
Narrated by: Adjoa Adoh
Read by SAG-nominated Bridgerton actor Adjoa Andoh, the abridged audiobook of Half of a Yellow Sun is almost as much of a masterpiece as the novel itself. Winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007, the evocative story is set during the Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s. Following three people whose lives intersect as they’re swept up in violence and famine, the novel explores everything from romantic relationships to postcolonialism. Andoh’s reading completely immerses you, demonstrating the power of a great audio production – the characters and story stay with you long after you finish listening.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Me Talk Pretty One Day’ by David Sedaris
Best: Audiobook essay collection
Length: 5 hrs and 51 minutes
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Known for his New Yorker essays and This American Life programmes, American humorist and essayist David Sedaris is at his best when narrating his own writing. Me Talk Pretty One Day is arguably his best collection of personal essays and, in turn, his best audiobook. Whether he’s exploring his move from New York to Paris and attempting to learn French from a sadistic teacher, ranting about posh restaurants, recounting his childhood guitar lessons (you won’t ever forget his tutor Mr Mancini), or reflecting on his idiosyncratic family, it’s laugh-out-loud funny, thanks to Sedaris’ pitch-perfect comedic timing. The collection of essays is perfect for dipping in and out of, as you would a podcast.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £10.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Demon Copperhead’ by Barbara Kingsolver
Best: Audiobook of a classic reimagined
Length: 21 hours and 3 minutes
Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
Barbara Kingsolver won both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Women's Prize for Fiction for her 2023 novel Demon Copperhead. A retelling of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, it’s a powerful reimagining set amid America’s opioid crisis.
Narrated by Charlie Thurston, the actor’s regional accent transports you right to southwest Virginia. Thurston’s narration is just as emotive as the novel itself, which centres on young Damon Fields, who is born to a drug-using teenage mother. The listener follows him through school and into young adulthood, just as in Dickens’s novel. Owing to rich character development and life-affirming but often tragic storytelling, it’s the kind of audiobook you grieve once you’ve finished listening.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £18.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Romantic Comedy’ by Curtis Sittenfeld
Best: Romantic comedy audiobook
Length: 9 hours and 5 minutes
Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
Author of Rodham, American Wife and Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld writes novels that are a guaranteed good time. Sittenfeld’s latest, Romantic Comedy, is a joyous listen, following a TV scriptwriter who develops an unlikely crush. Working on a Saturday Night Live-type show, Sally Milz is successful but long over finding love. That is, until she meets Noah, an attractive young pop star who is making a guest appearance on the show. Funny, warm and witty, Kristen Sieh’s narration is the perfect lighthearted companion for dog walks and chores.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘This Much is True’ By Miriam Margolyes
Best: Comedy memoir audiobook
Length: 15 hours and 7 minutes
Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
Narrated by Miriam Margolyes, the actor’s memoir is a rollicking ride through her life. From her blissful upbringing and time at university (including her time spent in student comedy troupe the Cambridge Footlights) to hilarious sexual escapades and gossip on Hollywood A-listers Warren Beatty and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Touching on the highs and lows of her life, she’s candid about her stint as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter franchise and her work in Call the Midwife, while also exploring her 53-year relationship with her partner, Heather. Unsurprisingly, the audiobook is hilarious but equally a fascinating and emotional portrait of a life well-lived.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Educated’ by Tara Westover
Best: Audiobook memoir
Length: 12 hours and 10 minutes
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Debuting at the top of the New York Times bestseller list upon its release in 2018, Educated sounds like a shocking work of fiction, but it’s a powerful true story. The memoir details Tara Westover’s childhood in a strict Mormon family. Home-schooled and never taken to a doctor, she didn’t even have a birth certificate until she was nine years old. Up until the millennium, Westover’s father was preparing for the end of the world.
With heartfelt narration by Julia Whelan, the audiobook evocatively recounts Westover’s brutal job at a scrapyard, and her mother’s venture into herbal remedies and oils – her only freedom from deference to her husband. Originally bound by strict Mormon beliefs, Westover relays her story of emancipation through education. Escaping her family’s radicalism and violence, she left home at 16 to pursue education, eventually studying at the University of Cambridge. Exploring the dark side of fundamentalism and American society, the memoir is as terrifying as it is empowering.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen
Best: Classic audiobook
Length: 11 hours and 35 minutes
Narrated by: Rosamund Pike
This classic novel is read by Emmy and Golden Golden Globe winnner Rosamund Pike. The famous story tells the tale of Elizabeth Bennett and her four sisters in the early 19th century, following their romantic pursuits as their parents attempt to marry them off. When Elizabeth meets the enigmatic Mr Darcy at a ball, the Regency-era version of an enemies-to-lovers storyline begins to develop. Austen’s irreverent wit makes it a hugely enjoyable listen.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £18.99, Audible.co.uk
'I Who Have Never Known Men' by Jacqueline Harpman
Best: Dystopian fiction audiobook
Length: 6 hours and 46 minutes
Narrated by: Sarah Lambie
While it was first published in 1995, this dystopian novel has seen BookTok divided. It might not necessarily be an audiobook to delight in listening to, but its thoughtful exploration of femininity might leave you reeling. It begins with a group of women locked in a bunker, guarded by men. Like the women, listeners are in the dark about how and why the women are there. When the men disappear without explanation, the women escape, but the world outside is desolate and bleak, with no signs of life, and the women need to find ways to cope.
The perspective of the protagonist is what makes the audiobook particularly thought-provoking. She has no recollection of life before being imprisoned. She only knows life in the bunker, and what the other women have told her, so her take on things, herself and the world, is unusual. The result is disorientating, but refreshing, giving a new perspective on topics such as relationships and death. The narration is animated, but still feels realistic and authentic, and develops as the character does. You’ll think about this audiobook long after finishing it.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘A Heart That Works’ by Rob Delaney
Best: Emotional audiobook
Length: 3 hours and 25 mins
Narrated by: Rob Delaney
When actor and comedian Rob Delaney was at the peak of his career with his black comedy sitcom Catastrophe, he was grieving his son, Henry. This memoir – narrated by Delaney himself – is a detailed, heartbreaking and honest account of this period. It tells the story of his son’s birth, first year, diagnosis with a brain tumour, his treatment at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital and his death.
Delaney’s writing of pain and heartbreak is unflinching and brutal, but his humour shines through in the narration, proving moments of levity. Large parts of Delaney’s memoir are love letters to his “beautiful boy” and to the NHS, which cared for Henry as he died. Though this is an account of every parent’s worst nightmare, Delaney’s gift is his ability to depict love amid tragedy.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £11.99, Audible.co.uk
'The Names' by Florence Knapp
Best: New fiction audiobook
Length: 9 hours and 41 minutes
Narrated by: Dervla Kirwan
Florence Knapp’s debut novel explores how a name can affect a life. Opening after the Great Storm in 1987, Cora’s controlling and abusive husband Gordon wants her newborn baby boy to be named after him. Her nine-year-old daughter has affectionately nicknamed the baby Bear, but Cora wants to name him Julian, believing this name will set him free of influence from his father.
The chapters are divided into three sections – Gordon, Bear and Julian – with each following the ramifications of his naming and the boy’s life as it unfolds over the decades. The audiobook is read by Dervla Kirwan, whose understated acting keeps you gripped through all the twists and turns. The story is utterly original, profound and moving in its exploration of how tiny decisions can change the path of your life.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Crying in H Mart’ by Michelle Zauner
Best: Audiobook about grief
Length: 7 hours and 23 minutes
Narrated by: Michelle Zauner
Crying in H Mart opens with Michelle Zauner reading her viral New Yorker essay of the same name. Following the loss of her mother to cancer soon after the deaths of her grandmother and aunt, Zauner finds herself regularly going to H Mart, the Asian supermarket chain in the US, where every aisle is tinged with nostalgia. While Zauner states her book is a story about her mother, it’s just as much about her own life, grief and where it takes her.
Her mother, who emigrated to the US before she was born, was an anchor to Zauner’s Korean heritage. With her gone, food is a portal. Zauner narrates how her upbringing was smothered by her mother’s love for her, resulting in a recognisable tussle between teenager and parent. But, at age 25, and on the cusp of success as a musician (Zauner is lead singer in the band Japanese Breakfast), she gets the call to say her mother is sick. Read out loud by the author herself, the prose is beautiful and intimate, exploring the complexity of mother-daughter relationships and the idea of belonging.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £11.99, Audible.co.uk
‘One Day’ by David Nicholls
Best: Romance audiobook
Length: 16 hours and 25 minutes
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
Listening to David Nicholls’s seminal romance One Day is just as good as reading it on the page. It follows Dexter and Emma, who meet on St Swithin’s Day as students at Edinburgh University. Spanning 20 years, the story revisits the duo’s lives on the same date, 15 July.
The novel ticks off all the classic romance tropes (think friends-to-lovers and ‘will they, won’t they’), but the story and characters feel thoroughly believable. The narration by Anna Bentinck keeps you enthralled through all the twists, turns, bittersweet moments and heartache (if you’re familiar with the story, you’ll know the weighty passage I mean).
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £20.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Spare’ by Prince Harry
Best: Royal memoir audiobook
Length: 15 hours and 37 minutes
Narrated by: Prince Harry
Published in 2023, Spare became the fastest-selling non-fiction book in British history, and the audiobook was especially popular. In the book, Prince Harry lifts the lid on more than two decades of royal family history. There are claims of a tussle with Prince William, drug use, Prince Harry’s time in Afghanistan and his relationship with Meghan Markle. Whether or not you’re a royalist, Prince Harry’s memoir has enough wild revelations, salacious gossip and strange confessions to keep even the biggest republicans hooked.
With Harry reflecting on his struggles in the royal family, it’s a strangely compelling and riveting listen – you’ll also come away knowing far too much about the royal’s frostbitten genitalia. Some chapters offer straightforward rants about his family, while others are a cringey love letter to his wife. Offering a peek behind the curtain of the world’s most famous family, Prince Harry’s narration is unlike any other audiobook on this list.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £16.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone’ by JK Rowling
Best: Audiobook for kids
Length: 8 hours and 25 minutes
Narrated by: Stephen Fry
No audiobook ranking is complete without Stephen Fry’s famous reading of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Released in 1999, Gen Z and young millennials likely listened as kids, but the recording is being discovered by a new generation.
The captivating and dynamic performance of Fry breathes fresh life into the novels. He voices all the characters with distinct accents and personalities, making it a truly immersive listening experience. The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, introduces us to the famous character in his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £17.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Kitchen Confidential’ by Anthony Bourdain
Best: Culinary memoir audiobook
Length: 8 hours and 37 minutes
Narrated by: Anthony Bourdain
A bible for chefs and foodies across the world, Kitchen Confidential made a star of Anthony Bourdain in 2000, topping bestseller lists and launching his media career. A memoir of his time in the kitchen, the audiobook is narrated by the late chef himself. Offering an unfiltered look at the less appetising moments of the high-end restaurant world, it followed his cult 1999 New Yorker essay, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This”.
Beginning with his first memorable food experiences on holiday in France with his parents, the book goes on to describe the unpleasant, hazardous and gruelling work in a professional kitchen. Some stories are hilarious, others are horrifying – but all are gripping and effervescently told in gonzo style. Above all, Bourdain’s passion for food shines through, and it remains a refreshing reminder of the hard-working heroes behind the scenes. If you’re a fan, the audiobook is essential listening.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing’ by Matthew Perry
Best: Hollywood memoir audiobook
Length: 8 hours and 49 minutes
Narrated by: Matthew Perry
Friends star Matthew Perry’s memoir is an engrossing listen, with the actor narrating the audiobook himself. Mirroring his character Chandler's sardonic, witty tone, Perry is funny and self-effacing as he recounts his addiction to alcohol and opiates. The audiobook begins with him hospitalised after an explosion in his bowel, setting the precedent for the rest of the book’s confessional tone.
His troubles didn’t begin with fame, but in his late teens, when he discovered drinking as a way to push down negative thoughts. His relentless quest for fame was another addiction, which he believed would solve all his problems. Bouncing between rehab, therapy sessions, detox programmes and romantic relationships, he relives moments of shame, happiness and success. By the end, you’re just rooting for him to get better, making the fact that the actor died only a year after his memoir’s publication even more poignant.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £15.99, Audible.co.uk
‘The Last Secret Agent’ by Pippa Latour
Best: Biographical audiobook
Length: 7 hours and 49 minutes
Narrated by: Jilly Bond
It’s not often you hear about female spies during the Second World War, whether in fiction or memoir. Pippa Latour’s autobiography is a fresh and gripping listen, published posthumously last year. Latour was the last surviving Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the first female from the taskforce to write her story. The book sounds like a spy thriller novel – testament to both Latour’s writing and incredible time undercover in France.
Recounting Latour’s unusual upbringing in the Belgian Congo, Tanzania and Kenya, the audiobook details how she was parachuted into occupied France and posed as a soap-seller to collect valuable information for the Allied war effort. Hiding codes in her hair and Morse keys under her bicycle seats, she sends back vital information to Britain in the lead-up to D-Day. Even more remarkable is that Latour told no one, not even her family, of her war work – until she put pen to paper in old age, determined for the story of female SOEs to be preserved.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Fear of Flying’ by Erica Jong
Best: Feminist audiobook
Length: 11 hours and 45 minutes
Narrated by: Hope Davis
One of the defining novels of second-wave feminism, Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying embraced the sexual revolution of the 1970s. Read by Golden Globe-nominated American actor Hope Davis, the story follows 29-year-old poet Isadora.
Bored after five years of marriage, Isadora decides to ditch her husband during a work conference in Vienna, embarking on a journey through Europe in search of the perfect, no-strings-attached fling. Witty, brazen and liberating, Jong’s novel was a controversial bestseller that resonated with readers across the world. The audiobook is both empowering and hilarious.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘The Story of a Heart’ by Rachel Clarke
Best: Medical non-fiction audiobook
Length: 9 hours and 1 minute
Narrated by: Rachel Clarke
Fans of medical deep-dive podcasts will find Dr Rachel Clarke’s prize-winning The Story of a Heart a fascinating listen. Kiera is nine years old when she dies in a tragic car accident. When her parents make the profoundly difficult decision to donate her organs, nine-year-old Max – who has been hospitalised with heart failure – is given another chance at life.
Dr Clarke’s book tells the story of these two families who are joined together by a heart. Both her writing and narration are hugely empathetic – while she never shies away from graphic medical details, it never feels gratuitous. Dr Clarke expertly blends a journalistic account of the history of organ donations with the emotional case study of Kiera and Max. It’s an unforgettable story told with the utmost compassion.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Empire of Pain’ by Patrick Radden Keefe
Best: History audiobook
Length: 18 hours and 6 minutes
Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
This prize-winning biographical beast is narrated by the author himself. Patrick Radden Keefe tells the true story of three generations of the Sackler family in America. Arthur, Mortimer and Raymond Sackler had humble beginnings as doctors before they acquired the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma in 1952.
Keefe explores how they developed and ruthlessly marketed the addictive painkillers Valium and Oxycontin, fuelling the American opioid epidemic. Empire of Pain is not only a microscopic history of the pharmaceutical industry, but of America itself. There are plenty of parallels to be drawn between the Sackler family and the Roy family in the hit TV series Succession. Keefe exposes the family’s sordid personal lives, affairs, betrayals and philanthropic ventures around the world, all of which distracted from their role in a crisis which causes millions of addictions across the United States. This 18-hour marathon exploration of the family doesn’t make for light listening, but it’s fascinating and masterfully told.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £14.99, Audible.co.uk
‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus
Best: Feel-good audiobook
Length: 11 hours and 56 minutes
Narrated by: Miranda Raison
If you’re after a feel-good romance, Lessons in Chemistry delivers on all fronts. Set in the early 1960s, it follows chemist Elizabeth Zott, who works alongside an all-male team at the Hastings Research Institute in southern California until she is forced to resign. She reluctantly signs on to host a cooking show, Supper at Six, so she can remain in the working world.
Her innovative approach to cooking is inspired by her background in chemistry, which quickly captures the attention of the nation, including empowered housewives. Meanwhile, romance is brewing between Elizabeth and fellow scientist Calvin Evans – refreshingly, this love story takes second stage to the themes of feminism, social equality and Elizabeth’s journey to self-fulfilment. The exuberant narration by Miranda Raison adds to the joyous feel of the story.
Listen to the audiobook now:
Buy now £12.99, Audible.co.uk
What is the best audiobook?
The audiobook of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s award-winning novel Half of a Yellow Sun is an engrossing, enriching, and powerful listen. Adjoa Andoh brings to life every character and keeps you hooked through all seven hours of the story. Prince Harry’s Spare and Matthew Perry’s Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing are memoirs that rarely miss, taking us behind the scenes of two very different worlds. If you love contemporary fiction, Florence Knapp’s debut The Names and Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead are immersive listens, while Romantic Comedy and One Day will keep romance fans happy.
How do I listen to an audiobook?
There are several ways to listen to audiobooks. The most common is Audible, Amazon’s audiobook service. Audible costs £5.99 per month, which gives you access to a single audiobook per month from the Audible library. A premium plus membership is £8.99, which gives you access to the plus catalogue and a credit to buy an audiobook every month.
You can sign up for a free Audible trial for 30 days. It automatically renews at £8.99 a month after a 30-day free trial unless cancelled.
However, Amazon’s Audible service isn’t the only option out there. Apple Books has most of the same options as Audible, available for a single-time purchase rather than as a subscription.
This is also true of Google Audiobooks, which does not have a subscription service, but a catalogue of books for one-time purchase.
Spotify is another place to enjoy audiobooks. You can buy individual audiobooks on the Spotify Web Player, and Premium Spotify users get 15 free hours of audiobooks per month. You can increase that to 30 hours for an extra £8.99 per month, and if that’s not enough, you can also top up your audiobook time if there’s a book you particularly want to finish.
Want more recommendations? Check out IndyBest’s dedicated book review section
